Building automation involves development of a system to monitor and control different systems within a building that are appropriate to control in this way. Some such systems—such as HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)—may have an existing control interface that needs to be integrated with other systems. Other elements—such as lighting, door control, and curtains and blinds—may be provided as part of a controlled system with an appropriate interface.
Individual systems within a building are typically proprietary, and there may be proprietary variation in their native control interfaces. Where individual systems need to be integrated into an overall control system, it is desirable to have a consistent way to address functionally equivalent items from different proprietors. One approach to addressing this issue is the BACnet (Buildings Automation and Control network) communication protocol developed by ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) and standardized under ASHRAE/ANSI Standard 135 and ISO 16484-5. The BACnet protocol defines a number of services for communication between building devices and a set of BACnet object types.
BACnet is effective for identification and control of controllable systems networked within a building and controlled by one (or more) controllers of a building control system within that network. A number of proprietary building control systems, some designed for large automated buildings, others designed for home use. Typically such systems require very significant setup, as they require population of a proprietary control system, typically requiring extensive manual input and often requiring engineering knowledge. When the building control system has been fully set up, a user is provided with systems information to allow for monitoring and control of the building systems through a proprietary user interface.
In order to make the setup process more effective, it was proposed in US 2016/0330285 to provide a controller with an integrated wireless network chip. The controller could then use accessible networks to discover controllable devices, which could then be identified as suitable for control by the building system controller and a control system for them developed according to the functionality of the building control system. A user can then interact with the building system controller over a suitable user interface. A similar discovery system is taught in US 2014/0018940 for the purpose of establishing a building model, which can then be used for testing and optimisation of a building management system during development.
It would be desirable to achieve an approach to management of automated building systems that would allow user set up and control that could be achieved rapidly and without detailed engineering knowledge.